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RECRUITING

NCT06354751

Maternity Care Experiences of Asylum-seeking and Refugee Women in Scotland

Sponsor: University of Aberdeen

View on ClinicalTrials.gov

Summary

The International Organisation of Migration reports that over half (52.4%) of international migrants in Europe are women. Evidence suggests that women with immigrant backgrounds often struggle to access healthcare across the world. Among migrant women, asylum-seeking and refugee women face higher risks of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes, including babies with low birth weight, physical and/or mental health problems or death related to pregnancy and/or childbirth. Previous studies have focused on immigrant women's experiences of care during pregnancy and birth and did not differentiate between asylum seekers, refugees, and economic migrants. This can make it difficult to compare studies accurately. This study focuses on asylum-seeking and refugee women, using the definitions provided by the United Nations. Asylum-seeking women refer to women who seek protection in a country other than their own and are waiting for a decision on their status. Asylum seekers become refugees once their application has been processed and accepted. A scoping review was conducted to understand the experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee women accessing maternity care in the United Kingdom( UK), focusing on Scotland. The review found that all studies that focused on the experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee women accessing maternity care were mainly based in England. The review identified the presence of specialist migrant services in maternity settings in Scotland and across the UK. Still, there was no information on their implementation or impact on women's outcomes. Additionally, there is limited evidence in the UK on the perceptions of healthcare professionals providing care to asylum-seeking and refugee women. This study aims to close this gap in research by exploring this area more deeply in Scotland through mixed-methods studies of surveys with asylum-seeking and refugee women and interviews with maternity care leaders, policymakers, maternity healthcare professionals, and asylum-seeking and refugee women.

Key Details

Gender

FEMALE

Age Range

16 Years - 50 Years

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

300

Start Date

2024-05-01

Completion Date

2026-11-30

Last Updated

2025-04-15

Healthy Volunteers

Not specified

Conditions

Refugee Asylum-seeking Women Maternity

( Phase one: Survey) \- Inclusion Criteria: * Women aged 16 and over. * Women who are or were or had been pregnant within the last 5 years. * Women who were living in Scotland within the last 5 years and used National Health Service (NHS) maternity services. * Asylum-seeking woman at the time of being pregnant or Refugee woman at the time of being pregnant. * Able to understand written or spoken English, Arabic, Persian or Urdu sufficiently to complete the survey. Exclusion Criteria : * Women who are economic migrants or illegal migrants or hold British citizenship at the time of being pregnant and using maternity services within last five years in Scotland. * Women who are asylum-seeking or refugee women and live in England or Wales or Northern Ireland. * Women with insufficient English, Arabic, Persian or Urdu to participate in the online survey. (Second phase: interview) Inclusion Criteria for women: * Women aged 16 and over. * Women who can provide verbal or written consent. * Women who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant within the last 5 years. * Women who were living in Scotland within the last 5 years and used NHS maternity services. * Asylum-seeking woman at the time of being pregnant or Refugee woman at the time of being pregnant. * Able to understand written or spoken English or Arabic sufficiently to participate in the interview. Exclusion Criteria for women: * Women who are economic migrants or illegal migrants or hold/held British citizenship at the time of being pregnant and used maternity services within last five years in Scotland. * Women who are asylum-seeking or refugee women and live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. * Women with insufficient English or Arabic to participate in the interviews. Inclusion Criteria for HCPs: * Currently employed in NHS Scotland in maternity services, including: * health care support worker, * midwife, * doctor and obstetrician, * Maternity care leader/manager. * Able to provide verbal or written consent. Exclusion Criteria for HCPs: • HCPs working in other specialists (outside of the previously mentioned professions).

Locations (1)

NHS Grampian

Aberdeen, United Kingdom